Chapter 5
Bella
I cock my head and blink at the angry sports god. “Poison? Me?”
“I know it was you. Sailor recognized you.”
Damn. I thought my disguise was good enough. The skirt was short, and I wore a push-up bra to show off my girls. I don’t have epic cleavage like Honey, but it was enough to distract a bunch of horny guys.
But apparently not Sailor. She must have emerged from Radley’s room long enough to spot me.
“You’re the one who handed out those bullshit care packages,” Radley says. “Admit it. I don’t know how you did it, but you made them all sick.”
I admit nothing. He has no proof. If he tested the contents of the gifts, he’d know the culprit was the electrolyte drink I bottled up specially for the team.
I made a UU label for the bottle and everything.
The drink contained a signature blend of herbs, including senna and a strain of bacteria cultured in my father’s lab. It’s like E. coli but faster.
The care package also contained extra salty snacks that would make them thirsty. I told them each item was carefully selected by their athletic advisor to provide the best possible nutrition need the night before the summer championship.
I lied.
“Oh no, that sounds terrible,” I coo and make sympathetic noises, but he’s not buying it, so I give up. “Did anyone die?” The dose wasn’t deadly, but you never know when calculating these effects on different-sized guys.
A muscle clenches in his jaw. “Penn’s in the hospital.”
I might have put a little extra culture in Penn’s bottle.
“Probably because he was already inebriated on Friday night. He really drinks too much. He should stop doing that or his liver will give out before he’s thirty.
” Especially if he pisses me off anymore.
And if he ever bothers Honey again, I won’t hold back on the dosage.
“You know, there are some herbs that might help him. I have some organic dandelion root—”
“Shut the fuck up.” Radley’s losing it. Red streaks his cheeks as he grinds his teeth. “You cost us the championship.”
“Oh?” I twirl a lock of white-blonde hair around my finger. “Was that today?”
“Yesterday. No one from our team was well enough to play. I had to forfeit.”
Poor Radley. He and Sailor were holed up in their room when I dropped the gift basket off.
I had hoped he might miss it and be the only one on the field to accept defeat.
I can imagine it now: the team captain up, bright and early, arriving on the green, waiting while one by one, his team texts him to say that they’re too sick to show up, and Sailor coming to console him before he trudges to the opposing team captain to forfeit.
I told Honey that I don’t get scared, I get angry. And when I get angry, I get even.
No one messes with my new best friend.
I smile at him, showing all my teeth. “Maybe you and your team should be nicer to people. For example, it’s not nice to invite people to parties and then drug them. Karma is a real bitch.”
“You’re a bitch.” Radley sets his shoulders and starts for me.
A giggle escapes me as I dart back out of reach. If he tries to grab me, I have several layers of defenses, but I’d rather not reveal them so soon.
Maybe I can lure him closer to the poison ivy and push him in.
YOLO!
“I’m going to fuck you up—”
“Touch her and die.” The quiet order comes from nowhere, and I startle as Mr. Masked Man, aka Muscles, appears again on the side of the path. I was right, he moves quietly.
Radley stops short, stumbling over his feet. The way he blanches at the sight of the mask makes me think masked men aren’t as common as I thought. He sizes the man up, which takes a while because the dude is oversized. “This doesn’t concern you.”
Muscles steps in front of me. “You will stay away from her.”
Radley freezes. His eyes spit hate at me, but he doesn’t move.
I stick out my tongue at him but pull it back in when Muscles turns to me. His voice is so deep and rumbly, it takes me a second to realize what he’s asking.
“Do you want me to snap his neck?”
What?
His eyes are cold, serious. “Your choice. I can do it quickly.”
My mouth falls open. Oh my goddess, is he talking about murdering someone? In the middle of the murder garden?
There’s a tingle in my downstairs, and just like that, my panties are soaked. Again.
I’m panting a little, so it takes a second to collect myself.
“I can help clean up afterward. We just need a nice, clear plot,” I say. “Like over there.” I jerk my chin toward the grove of yew trees.
“You could,” he says, like we’re discussing our favorite brunch spots in Metropolis instead of where to hide a body.
“I could plant nightshade over it. Or lady slippers. They’re endangered, and it’s a crime to dig them up.” I smile up at him, enjoying this moment of having a co-conspirator.
This whole time, we’ve been ignoring our potential victim, and Radley is turning redder by the minute. “Do you know who my father is?”
I roll my eyes. “Nope, and we don’t care.”
“Leave,” Muscles orders.
Nostrils flaring, Radley gives me a look that says this isn’t over and stomps away.
Aww, that was just getting fun. I wanted to see where it would lead.
Oh well. I grab my backpack from where I left it when I got here.
Maybe Radley will be waiting for me when I exit the garden.
Or maybe he’ll wait until his friends are feeling better and get them to help him with their revenge on me.
Either way, I’m looking forward to seeing what happens. I have a few more weapons up my sleeve.
But I am disappointed I won’t get to see Muscles beat down a punk student. He’s watching me closely again, and I let myself imagine crossing the space to him and pulling down the mask so I can stare at him as he’s been staring at me.
After a moment, I shake off the fantasy because that’s all it will ever be. But I’ve never felt so drawn to anyone in my life.
“Did you do it?” he asks. “Did you poison them?”
“Whoever did it must be a criminal mastermind. I wouldn’t cross them.” I flutter my lashes at him. The innocent act doesn’t work on my father anymore, but I’ve noticed most men fall for it.
He doesn’t fall for it. He looks even more suspicious of me. “You’re trouble.”
“I know. Isn’t it great?”
Across campus, the chapel bells start ringing. It’s noon. I’ve got to go.
I head out, tossing over my shoulder, “See ya never.”
Kaiser
The manic pixie nightmare flips her hair in my direction as she flounces away. I shouldn’t have let her see me. Even though I’m wearing a mask, I had no reason to show myself to her. I don’t know why I did, other than I couldn’t stop myself.
I thought getting close to her would help me understand her, but I only have more questions.
Is she not afraid of me? She’s into me, I can tell, but then she tried to ignore me.
She’s unhinged. And has some sort of immunity to poison ivy. Now I’m poisonous, too.
Her baby doll face probably fools a lot of guys into thinking she’s sweet and innocent.
Up close, it was too easy to get distracted by her perfectly plump lips.
She has a way of pushing them out into a pout that makes me think of how she’d look sucking on my dick.
All the blood has rushed to my groin. My jeans are so tight right now, it’s painful.
What is going on with this chick? She definitely poisoned the lacrosse team. I knew she was up to something with that big basket and her little cheerleader outfit.
Now I know what.
It still doesn’t make sense, but what about her does make sense? She’s constantly doing the unexpected.
That’s what makes her so fascinating.
I walk to the gate so I can make sure she gets across campus unscathed. Less than two weeks on campus and she’s already made enemies.
I won’t allow anyone to touch her. That right is mine.
I remember when Jaeger claimed his woman. How protective he was. No one was allowed to fuck with her, not even me.
I feel that way about Bella. The difference is, Jaeger is redeemable. I’m not.
There’s too much blood on my hands.
I don’t want to claim her, and I hate that I’m so into her. It makes no sense.
I tried to stay away, but I couldn’t. I revealed myself to her, even though I knew I shouldn’t. It will make my job harder. I didn’t break my vow to Fraternitas, though, but I bent it.
I couldn’t help it. My skin itches all over when I’m watching her, and it’s making me insane.
I’m dying to get my hands on her. Touch her all over and see if I can feel anything more than numbness. I don’t know why I’m so into her, but if I spend some time alone with her, I might be able to figure it out.
I pull off my mask, the rich scent of flowers almost overpowering. I’m smelling roses again, even though I don’t see any around. I don’t deserve to breathe such sweet air, but I gulp it down greedily.
I call St. James, who answers right away. “Any updates?”
“There are some new developments,” I say. “She’s getting into trouble. We need to move up the timeline.”
“The Vesuvios?”
“No. Someone else.” I tell him about Bella’s run-in with the lacrosse captain and how I stepped in to help.
“I stepped in to help her,” I confess. “So now she’s seen me.
” St. James doesn’t seem too concerned about this, but guilt burns through me.
Guilt and satisfaction that she was curious about me.
She drank in the sight of me like I was a tall glass of water on a hot day.
She tried to ignore me, but I could tell she felt the magnetic pull between us.
She wasn’t afraid, either. Most people in the same situation would be freaked out, but she wasn’t. She was annoyed, intrigued, and fascinated but not afraid. I don’t know why, and I want to know.
I shouldn’t want to know, but she’s driving me fucking crazy!
“Did she poison the lacrosse team?” St. James asks.
“Yes,” I say. I don’t know how she did it, but I can guess the basket of treats had something to do with it.
“Is it possible her father was behind this?”
“He’s the Poisoner, isn’t he?” Bella’s father, Benjiro Bosco, is the premier source of all poisons, both here in Metropolis and in New Rome. If you want to poison your enemies, he’s your first call. “He might have helped, but she did most of the dirty work.”
“The poisoned apple didn’t fall from the tree.” St. James sounds amused.
“We need to lock this down soon,” I say. “She’s already pissed off the lacrosse team. They’re nobodies, but soon the mafia families will be on campus.”
“Including the Vesuvios, and they’re out for blood. I see the problem. They’ll use the daughter to get to the Poisoner. Whoever controls the Poisoner, controls the game.”
I keep silent. St. James knows the game better than anyone. He’s played it successfully since he was barely older than a child.
“Is the Poisoner cooperating?” I ask.
“He will when I tell him we’ve kept his precious daughter alive. We’re the only reason she’s not already in the Vesuvio’s clutches. Have they made any more moves to grab her?”
“Just that scout. I’ll make sure no one gets close to her. The Vesuvios won’t touch a hair on her head.” My heart beats faster while I make that vow. I try to hide it, but my passion bleeds out through my voice.
St. James falls silent. He’s noticed my obsession with her. He notices everything. “You’ve been remarkably diligent about this job, Kaiser. Damien and I appreciate it.”
“You promised me a reward.”
“I did, and you will have it. Anything you want, it’s yours.”
I watch Belladonna Bosco skip away from me, oblivious to the dangers around her. The palm of my right hand tingles, and I flex my fingers, imagining grabbing her ponytail.
“Her,” I say. “I want her.”